Life at home has been good. I’ve been weening myself off the pain meds – I take the muscle relaxers and regular Tylenol during the day and then heavier stuff at night. Sleeping on my back is still extremely uncomfortable. I’m also finding myself not standing up as straight as I could and sitting weird which I think is giving me back pain. The drains had slowed significantly and were definitely an inconvenience. They are hard to hid under clothes, a little uncomfortable and you have to clean them 3 times a day (or milk them as one website said). Oddly – one of the drains was always clear fluid and the other red. Strange.
With that, today was my 1 week check up at my Plastic Surgeon. Session went well. At first she looked at my drains and said “maybe there’s a blockage” which made me nervous they wouldn’t remove them today. Luckily she checked them and even after clearing them, no new liquid was coming out. Apparently when you have smaller boobs your body has “less to fill” with fluid. So she removed the drains! It was pretty quick and not too painful. She also removed the stitch where my cancer was since the pathology determined all the cancer was removed. She then removed the bandages on my incisions. I was instructed to not put anything on my chest now; no more bandages, no bras etc – just loose fitting clothes. We also discussed the process for filling expanders. Since radiation may be an option, they may fill the expanders quicker, starting next week if I’m up for it. Since the expanders are under my chest muscles, it’s extremely tight and painful, so I’ll stay on the muscle relaxers longer.
Overall recovery is going. Definitely slower than I anticipated and it’s frustrating not being able to lift my arms. I did figure out how to open the fridge though – score one for me.
A few more thank yous. Thanks to Ms. Lou and Grandpop for the Tshirt!
Thank you to Michelle for the amazing Burt’s Bee Gift Basket full off all her favorite items!
Thank you to Kathy and Len for the “Instead of Flowers” Meal!
And thank you to Shawn’s work partners – AMP Communications for the beautiful flowers. Grace will love the Teddy Bear.
